2023 Mongol Rally - 20,000 Miles from Bristol to Mongolia... and back! Triumph 1300 FWD

[naskeet]

Driving in Dusty Conditions

If driving any significant distances off-road or on dirt roads or unsealed gravel / graded roads, it will be necessary to clean or replace the engine’s air-intake filter (typically a pleated-paper filter or oil-bath filter) at much more regular intervals, than is normally recommended for use on sealed-surface roads such as concrete or tarmac. In extreme cases, this might be necessary every few days or even every day, which is certainly mentioned in the owner’s operating manual for the 1973 VW 1600 & 1700 Type 2 Transporter T2. Hence, it might be advisable to take a few extra spare air-filter elements, which would “normally” require changing at least once during a 20,000 mile journey.

If one has an inlet-manifold vacuum gauge on the dashboard, progressive increases in idle-speed vacuum should indicate clogging of the air filter. I also vaguely recall that some commercial vehicles have differential-pressure switches linked to a warning device which indicates when an air filter is becoming clogged.

Owing to quantities of fine abrasive dust passing through the air filter into the engine, there would also be a need to change the oil and/or oil filter at more regular intervals. Given that it might be extremely difficult to source engine oil (mineral, semi-synthetic or fully-synthetic) with appropriate additives for a classic car on route, it would be prudent to carry enough oil & oil-filter cartridges for at least two oil changes plus any top-ups necessitated by oil leakage and/or consumption.

If using a semi-synthetic or fully-synthetic engine oil, which is very much less susceptible to oxidation & sludge-formation than conventional multi-grade mineral oil (as I have discovered from personal experience), it is possible to substantially increase the oil-drain intervals, by retro-fitting a supplementary fine-filtration, bypass oil filter as commonly used on heavy-goods vehicles, so that one has both full-flow coarse filtration and bypass-flow (i.e. partial-flow – typically 10~20%) fine filtration. One such bypass oil filter kit is, or at least was, available from Amsoil, but there might be other cheaper options. Magnetic filtration in various forms is also available, which might be of particular benefit when travelling on laterite dirt roads.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laterite

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirt_road

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirt_road ... rram_roads

Amsoil Bypass Filtration Kit

https://www.thebestoil.com/products/byp ... iltration/





Magnom magnetic oil filtration – pre-filter canister unit



https://magnom.com/

https://magnom.com/?s=PFU

https://magnom.com/magnom-products/magn ... ter-units/

https://magnom.com/wp-content/uploads/2 ... 00-700.pdf

Bennett Fitch (Noria Corporation), “Magnetic Filtration Applications and Benefits”, Machinery Lubrication, September 2005

https://www.machinerylubrication.com/Re ... filtration

https://www.machinerylubrication.com/Meta/Topics

https://www.machinerylubrication.com/Me ... %20filters

https://www.machinerylubrication.com/Me ... tor%20oils

https://www.machinerylubrication.com/Re ... -additives

https://www.machinerylubrication.com/Re ... ileage-oil

Back in the mid-1980s, the recommended oil-drain interval was 1 year or 25,000 miles (whichever came first) for Mobil 1, SAE 5W/50, API SF, “Rally Formula” fully-synthetic engine oil [bought in 1985/86 at Key Markets, Mobil franchise petrol station for £4•50 (normal price was circa £12•00) per 4 litre can], which I used with good results, in the water-cooled and air-cooled engines, of the 1974 Triumph Toledo 1300 “HL Special” and the 1973 VW 1600 Type 2 Transporter; albeit with substantially less than 25,000 mile drain intervals, owing to the limitations of the factory-standard oil-filtration systems.

Ideally, one would retro-fit a supplementary cyclone air pre-cleaner, if driving significant distances on dusty roads! In the following second installment of an article I wrote for the VWT2OC – Volkswagen Type 2 Owners’ Club bi-monthly magazine, I discussed alternative air filters that were available as either factory-fitted or dealership-fitted options, for territories where dusty conditions were an inherent problem, of which Australia and South Africa were two particular areas which warranted these options.

Nigel A. Skeet, "Replacement Parts & Touring Spares, for Volkswagen Transporters, Imported Second-Hand from Overseas - Part 2", Transporter Talk, Issue 112, April 2011, Pages 22~28.

In the article, I cited Philip Lander from Australia, who had a Nippon-Donaldson “Cyclopac” two-stage air-filter unit, that he had on his 1974 VW 1800 Type 2 with twin Solex carburettors. He informed me that VW of Australia had introduced this Japanese manufactured, Donaldson two-stage air cleaner (the first stage is probably a cyclone pre-cleaner of some description) as a dealership-fitted option, following numerous engine rebuilds under warranty, as a consequence of these vehicles being driven on Outback dirt roads, when equipped with the normal single-stage, paper-element air filter.

https://www.donaldson.com/en-us/engine/ ... cessories/

https://www.donaldson.com/en-us/engine/ ... -cleaners/

https://www.donaldson.com/en-us/engine/ ... s/general/

https://www.donaldson.com/en-us/engine/ ... ndicators/

Much of the information for this section of the magazine article, was derived from discussions on the Australian Kombi Club forum and South African Air-Cooled VW Club forum of which I am also a member.

Technical Advice > Engine air filters for very-dusty conditions?

http://www.aircooledvwsa.co.za/viewtopi ... =4&t=12592

Bay Tech Clinic > Engine & Transmission > Engine air filters for very-dusty conditions?

http://www.forums.kombiclub.com/showthread.php?t=23366

Bay Tech Clinic > Engine & Transmission > Stock air cleaner

http://www.forums.kombiclub.com/showthread.php?t=28937

During March-April 1980, whilst touring Botswana, South Africa & Swaziland in a Nissan E20 based motor-caravan, I drove on several dirt roads and unsealed, graded-aggregate (i.e. macadamised) roads, where one frequently encountered large clouds of fine, choking dust, generated by the wheels of passing vehicles.

Seeing an approaching or overtaking vehicle, there was a mad scramble to close all of the windows and ventilation vents, before we were enveloped by the dust cloud, which would otherwise cause us to cough and splutter for several minutes. It might have been useful to have had a ventilation-air filter (aka pollen filter) incorporated into the ventilation system, but such sophistication was uncommon or unknown in those days!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macadam

How to Grade a Gravel Road: General Principles

https://www.khplant.co.za/blog/article/ ... principles

On either dirt roads or unsealed, graded-aggregate roads, traction, road holding and stopping distance are inferior to sealed road surfaces such as concrete or “tarmac” (i.e. tarmacadam – macadamised road, sealed and stabilised using tar / asphalt / bitumen as a binding agent), so one needs to leave longer following distances and avoid violent braking, acceleration or steering.

It’s also wise to leave much longer following distances, to minimise exposure to fine dust, of both the vehicle occupants and the engine. On unsealed, graded-aggregate roads, there is also the added risk of windscreen breakage from frequent flying stones, kicked up by the wheels of vehicles one is following behind.

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It isn't Paris Dakar and driving 180km/u all the time to be the first at the finish.

It's a rally for classic cars where the route is constructed so classic cars can handle. It shouldn'd be good that on day one all contesters stranded or sink in the sand by the route set out by the organisation.

I have prepared cars for various events and the main thing is still, keep it as standard and simple as possible. Don't add weight by exotic constructions but try to remove. Good quality brake pads like Ferodo is better than fitting large calipers and discs alround.

In a case of emergency the car should be able to be repaired with duct tape, wire and a big hammer. The more you put in or on, the more can fail and fall off again.

Jeroen

Although I travelled on the potholed dirt roads from Banjul (formerly named Bathurst) in The Gambia (part of former British West Africa – of which I have coins) to Senegal (part of French Equatorial Africa) in 1976, I never did make it to Dakar! Let us also not forget the East African Safari Rally, in former British East Africa, comprising Kenya, Uganda & Tanzania (of which I have coins). As I know from personal experience in 1972 and 1978, the unmade dirt roads of Kenya and nearby Ethiopia can be quite challenging!

Preparing a car for an event lasting only a few hundred or a few thousand miles, is rather different from preparing for a 20,000 mile journey, for which one needs to be self-sufficient, on what could prove to be some of the worst roads in the World, and having to contend with the antics of some of the worst drivers in the World. It would be only minor emergencies, which can be dealt with adequately, employing “duct tape, wire and a big hammer”! As we say in Great Britain, “failing to prepare is preparation to fail” and “hope for the best but prepare for the worst”.

Even in a four-wheel-drive vehicle, one can easily get bogged-down in soft sand, right up to the chassis, as I witnessed in 1968 with a Series-2a Land Rover, in the Moroccan Sahara. This is why desert travellers carry shovels and perforated-steel sand-tracks or sand-ladders as a precaution, as well as travelling in convoy; something that is also recommended when travelling in the desert areas of Mongolia.

https://caravanistan.com/transport/driving/mongolia/

https://caravanistan.com/transport/driv ... n-mongolia

https://caravanistan.com/transport/driv ... challenges

My interpretation of this endurance rally (not a race!), is that there is merely a suggested route and that the only things which are precisely defined are the starting & finishing points; so there is plenty of opportunity to get oneself into trouble and/or lost.

https://mongolrally2023.com

https://evlear.com/mongol-rally-2023

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongol_Rally

https://www.theadventurists.com/guides/mongol-rally/

https://www.theadventurists.com/guides/ ... ll-sort-of.

https://www.theadventurists.com/guides/ ... 2-vehicles

https://www.theadventurists.com/guides/ ... he-unroute

https://www.theadventurists.com/guides/ ... he-warning

I would NOT contemplate driving any vehicle at speeds approaching 180 km/h (i.e. 112½ mph) on any road, including a motorway or autobahn, yet alone off-road or on a dirt-road. On dirt roads with ruts and/or potholes, I would be more likely to be driving at 5~20 mph (i.e. 8~32 km/h).

Besides that, I don’t think a FWD Triumph 1300/1300TC could manage 180 km/h (i.e. 112½ mph) under any conditions; even on a perfectly-surfaced highway. I would imagine that a more leisurely speed in the range 5~50 mph (i.e. 8~80 km/h) would be more appropriate for the 2023 Mongol rally, dependent upon road, traffic & weather conditions. The rally isn’t specifically for classic cars (merely cheap second-hand cars with small engines), although the FWD Triumph 1300 will be one of the classic-car entrants; assuming its renovation & rally preparation are completed in time for the starting flag.

Even at these relatively modest speeds, a vehicle’s body structure and suspension can suffer partial or total failure, as Christian Figgenshou experienced on his journey several years ago, from Capetown to Cairo and onward to Germany, in a South Africa built, 1975 VW “Fleetline” Kombi. A similar journey from Amsterdam to Capetown, in a North American specification, 1978 VW 2000 Type 2, was undertaken as part of the Orange Trophy by two young Dutch brothers, Ralph & Lucas van den Houten; who also went on long overland trips from Amsterdam to Beijing and New Amsterdam (aka New York) to Rio de Janeiro.

Forum Index > Bay Window Bus > Baywindow to Beijing resto thread

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=241979

Forum Index > Bay Window Bus > Iron Lion to Capetown

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=370281

Forum Index > Bay Window Bus > Iron Lion | prep thread | New York - Rio 2014

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=538190

For driving off-road and on poorly-surfaced roads, one needs soft (i.e. low-stiffness), long-travel suspension, with good-quality, heavy-duty dampers, able to dissipate the heat generated by the damping process. Ideally, dampers would be of the re-buildable type, which if necessary can be stripped down and overhauled on route; a philosophy which stood the legendary Arthur Barraclough (a former WW2 Short Sunderland flying-boat mechanic) in good stead.

Bay Window Bus > Arthur Barraclough's, much vaunted, modified, 1970 VW Type 2

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewt ... p?t=196043

The roads of Africa, Central Asia and Russia are not kind to motor vehicles, which is why the Russians re-engineered the Fiat 124 to produce the ubiquitous Lada. I know from my general reading, that an unmodified 1973~79 VW Type 2 successfully travelled unscathed from the Baltic coast to Kamchatka on the Pacific coast, through Western, Central & Eastern Russia, but whether a 1967 FWD Triumph 1300/1300TC could achieve the same feat remains to be seen.

In the distant past I have driven a late-1970s vintage Nissan E20 van on a gravel road in South Africa at circa 50 mph (i.e. 80 km/h) and an early-1980s vintage Ford Transit 1600 van on virgin-snow at 60 mph (i.e. 96 km/h), on the outside lane of the M4 motorway in England; the middle lane also being virgin snow and empty of traffic, whilst the inside lane was covered with slippery hard-packed snow (coefficient of friction is only about 1½~2 times that of sheet-ice, as I know from childhood experience with winter playground “slides” in Dundee!), heavy with traffic, travelling at circa 40 mph (i.e. 64 km/h) at following distances of circa 20~30 feet (i.e. circa 6~9 metres), which seemed suicidal to me.

I would not advocate an exotic brake conversion for any vehicle; there being too many ill-conceived “brake-upgrades” being promulgated. I similarly, would not advocate substituting overly aggressive brake-disc pads or brake-drum shoe linings, on the grounds that it is probably quicker, easier & cheaper to replace friction linings than it is to replace brake discs & drums; especially on a classic-car. I have seldom used my brakes, so it’s not that critical to me! After 101,000 miles (i.e. 161,600 km) my Triumph Toledo’s brake discs & drums exhibit little sign of wear.

I am not advocating any exotic system upgrades, preferring to retain (or add in – engine starting handle) simple, robust technology, which can be readily repaired in a backstreet engineering workshop or blacksmith’s forge; a few of which I have visited for interest on my travels. However, there are things that one can do to improve durability & reliability, and give forewarning of impending problems, before they become relatively unsolvable.

Nigel A. Skeet, “In Praise of Older Simpler-Technology Vehicles & Selective Upgrading”, Transporter Talk, Issue 121, January & February 2013, Pages 21~24.

[naskeet]

Fuel Supplies – Availability, Cleanliness & Octane Rating

Availability of petrol can vary considerably from country to country, especially in sparsely populated regions and/or regions where private-ownership of cars is rare or prohibited; as was the case in Albania until not so long ago. In regions where petrol stations are not widespread outside major towns or cities, it would be wise to obtain up to date information in advance about where petrol can be obtained.

https://caravanistan.com/transport/driv ... stan/#fuel

https://caravanistan.com/transport/driv ... ailability

https://caravanistan.com/transport/driv ... n-mongolia

In some of the remote, sparsely-populated areas, petrol might be delivered by hand-operated pumps, from 45 gallon steel drums, rather than from large underground storage tanks at purpose-built filling stations, or even direct from small tanker lorries which periodically visit small rural communities, where people fill up their fuel cans for petrol-driven tuk-tuks, rotovators and other agricultural equipment. I saw such a small tanker lorry in Latvia in 1993; although it was suggested that it might have been carrying paraffin rather than petrol.

Even if petrol is normally readily available, there might be days or times when petrol cannot be purchased, of which weekends and religious days are likely to be typical examples. When touring South Africa in 1980, we discovered that petrol could not be purchased on a Sunday, unless one had a special permit granted by a local justice of the peace.

According to the following publication, the Triumph 1300/1300TC fuel tank had a capacity of 11•75 gallons (53•4 litres), whereas that of the Triumph 1500 had a capacity of 12•5 gallons (56•8 litres) in common with the Triumph Dolomites, which shared the same or very similar body-shell.

John Millward, “Triumph 1300/1500 Car Repair Manual, 1965~1973”, Autodata Ltd., 1980, ISBN 0-85666-049-3

An 11•9% increase of 1•25 gallons in the Toledo’s fuel-tank capacity, from 10•5 gallons (47•7 litres) to 11•75 gallons (53•4 litres), would have usefully increased the car’s maximum range to circa 450 miles, which might just about take me from my present home-town of South Benfleet, Essex, England, to my early-childhood home-town of Dundee, Angus, Scotland, without refuelling on the way!

Note: 1 Imperial pint = 1•76 litres | 1 Imperial gallon = 4•546 litres | 5 litres = 1•09 Imperial gallons

On well surfaced roads, a FWD Triumph 1300 should be capable of a range on a single full-tank of petrol, of at least 400 miles and maybe as much as 450 miles, given overall engine gearing similar to that of my 1974 Triumph Toledo 1300 “HL Special”, which could be achieved with 155/80 R13 tyres in combination with a 3•89:1 final-drive ratio or something like 185/65 R15 tyres in combination with a 4•11:1 final-drive ratio; assuming the gearbox ratios are the same.

Fit another fuel tank, universal or something that fits, behind the rear seat. The safest place. One bump in the boot floor and you have a leaky tank.

I suspect that it would probably require a hard blow from a very large sharp rock, to perforate the factory-fitted fuel tank in the bottom of the boot, but it might be wise to retro-fit another sturdy skid plate. It’s not clear whether Jeroen is suggesting retro-fitting another fuel tank, behind the rear bench seat in the boot, to supplement the original factory-fitted fuel tank in the bottom of the boot or as a replacement for it!?! He also omitted to mention whether it would require a new separate filler-pipe or share a modified Y-junction filler-pipe with the original factory-fitted fuel tank. A simpler expedient to having an auxiliary fuel tank, might be to carry one or more petrol-cans, of either 5, 10 or 20 litre capacity.

Forum Index > Accessories/Memorabilia/Toys > "Explosafe" Safety Fuel Cans

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=652305

Beyond the boundaries of what’s commonly referred to as the “Western World”, one faces uncertainty about the octane-rating and cleanliness of the available petrol for road vehicles; especially as the labelling of such fuel is NOT universal from one country to another. I think it unlikely that leaded petrol is available anywhere now (partly because of its poisoning effect on catalytic converters), with the possible exception of avgas (i.e. aviation gasoline), but there might be varying proportions of ethanol (i.e. ethyl alcohol) in the petrol blends, of which E10 appears to be increasingly popular.

In Great Britain and probably most if not all European Union countries, petrol is usually classified by RON – Research Octane Number, whilst some other countries might use MON – Motor Octane Number, which would be numerically different for the same petrol-sample. In the Americas, the arithmetic mean value of RON & MON, referred to as RKI, is more typically used.

It’s important to know which of RON, MON or AKI classifications are being used in the various countries through which one is travelling and also how to distinguish between petrol, diesel (aka gas-oil) and paraffin (aka kerosene), so compile a list of the words for these in the various languages and learn how to pronounce them; especially the ones for petrol. For starters, the three types of fuel smell somewhat different; which is something that is difficult to describe in words, so you will just have to train your noses. Petrol feels more like a spirit and evaporates quite quickly, but diesel and paraffin are quite oily.

Various octane grades of petrol are commonly referred to as being regular, premium or super (in whatever language is applicable), in order of increasing octane-rating, but in terms of their numerical RON, MON or AKI ratings which are more indicative of their suitability for one’s vehicle, these can vary significantly from one country to another, to the extent that regular grade petrol in one country could have a higher octane rating than super grade petrol in another country!

“Global Octane Market Continues to Be Dominated by Regular Gasoline Grades”, Stratas Advisors, 8th October 2019

https://stratasadvisors.com/Insights/20 ... rket-Share

« Octane is regulated in various regions and countries using different approaches. Many countries establish minimum RON and MON levels for gasoline, whereas AKI is typically used in the Americas. Generally, it is required that refuelling pumps indicate the octane level being sold as vehicle technologies require different octane and one or more grades can be found at the pump. »

« Notably across the world, current gasoline octane grades range widely from RON 80 to RON 110, or AKI 81 to 91 in the Americas. Several countries have two or more grades available on their markets, while a number of African countries have only one gasoline grade on their markets including Nigeria (RON 91), Libya (RON 95), etc. As of 2019, Indonesia has the highest number of gasoline grades on its market with a total of six grades of RON 88, 90, 92, 95, 98 and 100. In addition, four countries including Iraq, Peru, Philippines and Russia have as many as five gasoline grades on each of their markets. Furthermore, countries such as China, Egypt, Kazakhstan, Paraguay and Ukraine have four gasoline grades available on their markets. »

« Generally, it is observed across the world that regular grades have an octane rating ranging from RON 80 to RON 97 (or AKI 81 to 87), while premium grades have an octane rating ranging from RON 90 to RON 110 (or AKI 87 to 91). For example, the regular grade in Europe is RON 95, while in the CIS, it ranges from RON 80 to 95. »

For at least two transcontinental travellers of which I am aware, this or other sources of confusion, led to their engines rapidly sustaining serious damage within less than a few hundred miles, requiring a major strip-down & rebuild with new components, owing to severe detonation (i.e. pinking, pinging, knock or spark-knock), which is not always audible.

Given that the FWD Triumph 1300/1300TC high-compression engines (8•5:1 or 9•0:1 compression ratios) were designed to run on 4-star RON 97 petrol, filling up with RON 90 petrol or even RON 80 petrol, could have devastating consequences, so one needs to be very careful to ensure that one is obtaining petrol of an appropriate octane rating or use an octane-booster additive. Noting that regular grade petrol seems to be the most popular, RON 97 or higher-octane petrol might not be so readily available.

Possible confusion re octane ratings, was something of which I had to be particularly careful, driving during the mid-1980s in Eastern Europe, behind the “Iron Curtain” (where low-octane petrol was common, for cars with two-stroke engines, such as the Serena, Wartburg & Trabant), in the 1973 VW 1600 Type 2 motor-caravan (VW Type 1 style air-cooled engine | 1584 cm³ displacement | 50 DIN horsepower | 7•5:1 compression ratio), for which a minimum octane rating of RON 91 was specified and would happily run on 2-star RON 92 petrol. Many 1960s vintage, VW Type 1 style air-cooled engines, were of even lower compression ratio, for which a minimum octane rating of RON 87 was specified.

The 1973 VW Type 2’s substitute engine (VW Type 4 style air-cooled engine | 1911 cm³ displacement | 90+ DIN horsepower | 8•0:1 compression ratio) should run happily on RON 95 petrol, and might even cope with petrol of lower octane-rating, owing to enhanced combustion-chamber turbulence, attributable to reduced piston deck-height (i.e. squish-height) clearance, as recommended for modified high-performance engines; although I would want to retro-fit some form of detonation detection & warning system before I consider doing so.

Performance / Engines / Transmissions > Engine-knock warning and/or avoidance devices

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewt ... p?t=280438

Bay Window Bus > Detection & avoidance of detonation and/or pre-ignition

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=280812

There is also the possibility in some regions, where the procedures are more lax, and consequent mistakes more common, that petrol-station fuel-pump labels, might not always correspond to what is in the tanks or drums!

Dealing with the possibility of filling up with low-octane petrol, is not the only hazard! In some regions, there is likely to be significant risk of petrol being contaminated with water and/or solid debris, such as flakes or granules of rust. It is recommended that when filling the petrol tank and/or cans, that the fuel be strained using a filler funnel with a gauze mesh that can later be back-flushed if needed. Retro-fitting a transparent, in-line fuel-filter housing with an easily replaceable filter-element and a transparent, in-line fuel-water separator, with the facility to drain off the water, would also be advisable.

Fuel filters are available in a variety of different forms. The simplest & cheapest fuel filters, that are most commonly available at car accessory shops, involve simply pushing on the flexible fuel hoses and fastening with hose clamps. They have a relatively small filtration area and a limited capacity for retaining solid contaminants. The risk of damaging the fuel hoses, when removing such a fuel filter, is a further disadvantage, especially if filter replacement becomes necessary on route. Some fuel filters are connected to the fuel pipes or hoses by means of screw-on banjo fittings.

I am inclined to favour fuel filters of a type that are permanently plumbed into the fuel system, which have an easily replaceable filter element. These could take the form of a screw-on cartridge (similar to an oil filter) or a removable bowl with a replaceable filter element. A transparent removable bowl would allow one to inspect how much solid contaminant has accumulated.

https://inlinefilters.co.uk/Filters-Fuel/?

https://inlinefilters.co.uk/Filters-Fue ... 3754&pag=1

https://inlinefilters.co.uk/Filters-Fue ... 3864&pag=1

https://inlinefilters.co.uk/Filters-Fue ... 3717&pag=1

Some filters, commonly employed with diesel engines, have the facility to drain off water by means of a drain-cock.

Tim Rhodes, “Best Fuel Water Separator Filters And Their Reviews For 2022”, The Water Nerd, 1st September 2022

https://thewaternerd.com/fuel-water-separator-filter/

[naskeet]

Optimal Bodywork Colour

Whilst you are sorting out the “80% structural rust”, it would seem to be the most appropriate time to do this, as much of the vehicle would need repainting afterwards anyway; preferably in one or more high-visibility colours (e.g. high-saturation orange, yellow and/or yellow-green) which are the most easily seen colours in any weather, under both daytime & night-time conditions! Avoid using any colours (especially white, silver & grey, plus any pastel colours) which offer poor contrast with the background terrain or sky. Red is highly visible in daytime, but under low-light-intensity dawn, dusk and night-time conditions, it appears black.

Just over 20 years ago, in March 2002, Great Britain started revising the colour of our ambulances as part of a European wide rationalisation to make ambulances universally recognisable and more visible, for which a particular shade of yellow was the chosen colour to maximise visibility; something I had long recognised subjectively, when choosing my family’s mimosa-yellow, 1974 Triumph Toledo 1300 in April 1975, and objectively, as a part of my B.Sc. Applied Physics, Third-Year course module, “The Physical Environment: Visual, Thermal & Acoustic” during 1977/78 and a later Open University course module in 1992.

Jo Willey, “Euro yellow, the new colour for our ambulances”, Daily Mail, Wednesday, 6th March 2002, Page 30

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... ances.html

« . . . research carried out by ambulance services across Europe found it vital that emergency vehicles be instantly recognisable anywhere. They discovered that the human eye’s response to any particular hue reaches a peak with the colour ‘Euro Yellow RAL 1016’. »

RAL 1016 Sulfur yellow

https://www.ralcolorchart.com/ral-class ... fur-yellow

« This page shows RAL colour 1016 called Sulfur yellow. This colour appears in the category Yellow hues, part of the collection RAL Classic. In other languages, this RAL color has the following names: »

« Dutch: Zwavelgeel »
« German: Schwefelgelb »
« French: Jaune soufre »
« Italian: Giallo zolfo »
« Spanish: Amarillo azufre »

« RGB code | Red: 241 (95%) | Green: 221 (87%) | Blue: 56 (22%) »

« CMYK code | Cyan: 5% | Magenta: 0% | Yellow: 90% | Black: 0% »

RAL 1016 Sulfur Yellow Paint Brushing Coach Enamel Gloss Extreme - By Buzzweld | 1•0 litre | £30•44

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/115563241779 ... 89528e1a53

RAL 1016 Sulfur Yellow Paint 2K Direct Gloss by Buzzweld | 1•0 litre | £54•60

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/115562237847 ... %3A2047675

RAL 1016 Sulfur Yellow Paint Cellulose Gloss by Buzzweld | 1•0 litre – £30•44 | 5•0 litre – £108•14

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/125558930040 ... %3A2047675

RAL 1016 Sulfur Yellow Paint Coach Enamel Gloss by Buzzweld | 1•0 litre – £30•44 | 5•0 litre – £108•14

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/125559021419 ... %3A2047675

More than 25 years ago, during the late-1980s to late-1990s, when I was updating my knowledge, by taking some distance-learning courses with the OU – Open University, I included the ½-Credit (i.e. 30 CATS Points), Technology Faculty, Level 2 course “T292 Instrumentation”. In Block 6, Part 2, dealing with displays, it discusses the eyes’ sensitivity to different light intensities and frequencies as well as the design, size and orientation of displays; citing recommendations from British Standards BS89 and BS3693 in the discussion.

The aforementioned OU publication mentions that the “average” human eye is approximately 100 times more sensitive to yellow-green light of 550 nm wavelength than it is to violet light of 425 nm wavelength and about 20 times more sensitive to yellow-green light than to red light of 670 nm wavelength. Thus a red or violet light source must emit considerably more radiant energy than a yellow-green source to appear equally bright.

The human eyes’ sensitivity to different light frequencies (i.e. colour), is also dependent upon light intensity and hence whether they are perceiving incident light using one’s high-intensity colour vision (three types of cones in the retina) or low-intensity monochrome (i.e. black, white and shades of grey) night vision (rods in the retina).

[tinweevil]

Sweet baby cheeses, who invited Tolstoy?

Keep it as std. as possible is my advice. Keep it as light as possible. Dual circuit brakes is wise to fit. In std form almost everything is repairable so best to keep it that way. Excotic suspension isn't needed. Keep all as soft and flexible as possible to have the suspension take the bangs and not the car's body or mounting points. Have an extra starter and alternator. Have a modern alternator, denso or similar to make it last. 100w bulbs in cibie 7 inch units will have enough light. have some spare wheelbearings and maybe one fronthub ready to fit.

^^^^^ This.

Then some more of this ^^^^^

1) get it on the road asap
2) drive it. Not a one off down to Cornwall & back, drive it every day until everything fragile has broken. Twice. And you can change it in 10 minutes.
3) Electronic ignition. No need for the expensive options, the £15 one I forget the name of will do fine.

(Make a video and enter it into the Adventure Travel File Festival please)

[naskeet]

Sweet baby cheeses, who invited Tolstoy?

^^^^^ This.

Then some more of this ^^^^^

1) get it on the road asap
2) drive it. Not a one off down to Cornwall & back, drive it every day until everything fragile has broken. Twice. And you can change it in 10 minutes.
3) Electronic ignition. No need for the expensive options, the £15 one I forget the name of will do fine.

(Make a video and enter it into the Adventure Travel File Festival please)

I think Tolstoy wrote in Russian, of which I didn't see any in this topic thread!

Once everything fragile has broken, there probably would not be much of the car left!

It appears that the 2023 Mongol Rally was cancelled!

I presume this was because of the war between Russia and Ukraine!?!

I wonder whether the rally-preparation of the FWD Triumph 1300 was completed and what preparations the competitors decided to make!?!

[triumphdolomiteuk]

As the original poster last visited the site in June 2022, it's unlikely that they actually read any of the useful information which was posted after that.